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In Havana, Yugoslav President, Josip Broz Tito, urged delegates at the Non-Aligned Summit meeting to reaffirm the movement's independence of world power blocs.

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In Havana, Yugoslav President, Josip Broz Tito, urged delegates at the Non-Aligned Summit meeting to reaffirm the movement's independence of world power blocs. The Yugoslav President is the only surviving founder of the movement and delegates waited with interest to hear his key-note address on the second day of the summit on Tuesday (4 September), following Cuban President Fidel Castro's fiery anti-Western speech on Monday (3 September). But, before President Tito took the floor, United Nations Secretary General, Kurt Waldheim, addressed the delegates and proposed an all-party conference under United Nations auspices to seek a comprehensive peace settlement in the Middle East.

SYNOPSIS: Eighty-seven year old President Tito received a warm welcome from the delegates, which include fifty heads of state. In his speech, he strongly re-affirmed the traditional principle of non-alignement with either Western or Eastern blocs. President Tito, who split from the Soviet bloc in 1948, said "We have from the outset been consistently opposed to bloc policies and foreign domination, to all forms of political and economic hegemony and in favour of the right of each and every country to freedom, independence and autonomous development. We have never consented to be anyone's rubber stamp." Tito's largely moderate speech came in sharp contrast to Cuban President, Fidel Castro's bitter attacks on American and Chinese imperialism on Monday.

As opposed to Fidel Castro's sharp criticism of Egypt for betraying the Arab cause, President Tito called for a peaceful solution to the Middle East conflict without once referring to Egypt. On the issue of Kampuchea (Cambodia) President Tito once again used no names but called for the withdrawal of all foreign troops from member countries. The question of Kampuchea's representation caused a diplomatic storm during preparations for the summit.